Bavarian Premier Wants Tougher Blasphemy Laws

Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber is pressing for the enactment of stricter blasphemy laws in Germany. Deutsche Welle today says that the premier has called for all forms of blasphemy, regardless of religion, to be outlawed. He wants up to a three-year prison sentence for the most severe instances of deliberate insults to the religious feelings of others. Currently blasphemy is an offense in Germany only if it "disrupts the public peace". Germany's Lutheran Church does not support Stoiber's proposal. Petra Bahr, the church's commissioner for culture, said "We believe that respect for religious symbols can be better achieved through religious instruction." Also,Bahr contended, the government is not in a position to "decide what's blasphemous and what isn't." Muslims in Germany also are not behind Stoiber's idea. Burhan Kesici, vice president of the conservative Islamic Federation, said. "We think this is just a political move, calculated to keep certain circles in Bavaria happy and so we're not supporting it."